Discovery-owned international sports broadcaster Eurosport has teamed up with the International Ski Federation (FIS) and the Infront agency to provide ultra high-definition coverage of forthcoming alpine skiing events.
Eurosport will cover Italian events from Bormio, Madonna di Campiglio and La Thuile in UHD across Germany and Austria through its Eurosport 4K channel and via distribution partners HD+ and HD Austria. The Bormio event will also be available on Eurosport 4K via simpliTV in Austria.
The races will also be screened in the UHD format in Russia. The channel televised is first event using 4K UHD technology in Russia a year ago.
Infront is the exclusive media and sponsorship rights agency of the FIS and will produce the Bormio and Madonna di Campiglio races in collaboration with Euroscena and DBW Communication. It will work with Euro Media Group to produce the La Thuile event.
A total of 23 cameras will be set up in Bormio to provide a resolution that is four times higher than full high-definition format. There will be 17 cameras in place in Madonna di Campiglio, with 20 set up in La Thuile.
The FIS Alpine Downhill and Alpine Combined Ski World Cup events will take place in Bormio from December 28-29. The FIS World Cup Night Slalom in Madonna di Campiglio is scheduled for January 8, while the Super-G and Alpine Combined Ski World Cup La Thuile will take place from February 29 to March 1.
In November 2014, Eurosport signed a long-term agreement with Infront to consolidate its portfolio of winter sports events through to the 2020-21 season. The deal includes live coverage of all FIS Alpine, Cross-Country, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping, Freestyle and Snowboard World Cup events, with a fresh five-year term running from 2016-17 onwards.